The CBC announced the launching of HNIC Radio on Sirius Satellite Radio Friday, bringing back Hockey Night in Canada's radio roots which started 74 years ago.
HNIC Radio will air Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET beginning Oct. 1 on channel 122, and will be available to Sirius listeners throughout North America. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
From left to right: Craig Simpson, CBC's Hockey Night in Canada analyst; Mark Redmond, President and CEO of SIRIUS Canada; Jeff Marek, HNIC Radio host; and Elliotte Friedman, host of HNIC Radio.
Seasoned sports broadcaster Jeff Marek joins HNIC Radio as host, and will work alongside rotating co-hosts Kelly Hrudey, Elliotte Friedman and Scott Morrison.
The show will feature insight and analysis, keeping fans updated on all the breaking news and issues from the world of hockey.
Marek, who is leaving Toronto radio station AM 640 to join CBC, called it a dream to be associated with Hockey Night in Canada.
"It's been a dream since I first watched the program when I was five years old," Marek told CBCSports.ca. "I think it's everyone's dream who works in the hockey industry on the broadcast side to work for the top show in Canadian television history and the finest hockey brand in all of North America."
Marek described the prospect of working for Hockey Night in Canada as both "intimidating and inspiring at the same time."
"You tap the world on the shoulder your entire life and when it finally turns around you better have something to say, and that's kind of how I feel right now," Marek explained.
"I felt every show I've done in the past was an audition for something greater, and I'm just lucky to have landed the greatest job."
Aside from Marek, HNIC analysts Craig Simpson and Greg Millen will also be regular contributors on the program, while Ron MacLean, Don Cherry, Jim Hughson and Bob Cole will appear throughout the season.
"HNIC Radio on Sirius will give listeners the hockey news, talk and analysis that they have been asking for in an exciting new daily drive-time program," said Mark Redmond, president and CEO of Sirius Canada.
Sirius Satellite Radio offers listeners 110 channels and broadcasts live play-by-play games of the CFL, NFL and NBA as well as live NASCAR races.
In March, The CBC and the NHL announced a new television deal that will keep Hockey Night in Canada on the air until 2014.
